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Bmi (airline)
*** Shopping-Tip: Bmi (airline)
{{cleanup-date|April 2006}}
{{lowercase|title=bmi}}
{{Infobox_Airline |
airline=bmi|
logo=BMI British Midland logo.png|
logo_size=150px|
fleet_size=43|
destinations=38|
IATA=BD|
ICAO=BMA|
callsign=Midland|
parent=
British Midland Airways Ltd.|
founded=1938 (as '''Air Schools Ltd''')|
headquarters=
Castle Donington,
England,
United Kingdom|
key_people=Nigel Turner (
CEO), Sir Michael Bishop CBE (
Chairman)|
hubs=
Heathrow International AirportManchester International Airport|
focus_cities=
Leeds Bradford International Airport Leeds Bradford Int'l Airport|
frequent_flyer=
bmi Diamond Club|
lounge=Diamond Club Lounge|
alliance=
Star Alliance|
website= http://www.flybmi.com|
}}
'''bmi''' {{airline codes|BD|BMA|Midland}} is the second largest full-service scheduled
airline in the
United Kingdom. Based at Donington Hall, close to
Nottingham East Midlands Airport, it flies to destinations across
Europe, and to the
United States,
India, the Caribbean and Saudi Arabia.
bmi's operational base is
London Heathrow Airport London Heathrow, where it holds 11% of all take off and landing slots, and operates over 2000 flights a week. It was formerly known as '''British Midland'''.
History
bmi's roots lie in the formation of Air Schools Ltd in
1938, specialising in flying instruction for
Royal Air Force RAF pilots. In
1949 the company formed Derby Aviation and Wolverhampton Aviation, based at
Burnaston in the
Midlands, offering ad-hoc charter and freight flights with
De Havilland Dragon Rapide De Havilland Rapides, as well as aircraft maintenance and brokerage. The
1950s would see rapid expansion for the company. Flying instruction ceased in
1953 with the start of scheduled flights from
Derby and
Wolverhampton to
Jersey. When the first
Douglas DC-3 arrived in
1955, Wolverhampton Aviation had been phased out and the company's sole base became Burnaston Airport. International services commenced in
1956 to
Ostend, and holiday flights to mainland Europe began. The company was also contracted by
Rolls-Royce to transport aero engines to customers throughout the world, and in
1959 changed its name to Derby Airways. Domestic scheduled flights within the United Kingdom were launched toward the end of the decade.
image:bmi.a319-100.g-dbca.arp.jpg thumb|left|250px|bmi Airbus A319-100
In
1964 the company changed its name again to British Midland Airways (BMA) and moved operations from Burnaston to the recently opened East Midlands Airport. The corporate colours of
blue and
white were adopted at that time, with the introduction of the first
turboprop aircraft, the
Handley Page Aircraft Company Handley Page Herald. Minster Assets, an investment and banking group, acquired the airline in
1968. Domestic and European expansion continued apace, and in
1970 BMA entered the jet age with the introduction of the
BAC 1-11, followed by the
Boeing 707 in
1971. However, the BAC 1-11s would be withdrawn in
1972 and the 707s leased to other airlines as BMA concentrated on turboprops such as the
Vickers Viscount. Though the 707 fleet would be increased, none operate for BMA on scheduled services or charter services on their behalf until
1981, instead they were leased to other operators. The
Douglas DC-9 would convert most of the airline's domestic and European service to jet operation with its introduction in
1976.
In
1978 the company directors successfully purchased the airline from Minster Assets. The consortium included
Michael Bishop (businessman) Sir Michael Bishop, now the airline's chairman, and known as the BBW Partnership. That year, British Midland and
British Airways agreed to route swapping, resulting in British Midland Airways relinquishing its continental routes from
Birmingham to
Brussels and
Frankfurt and BA handing over its routes from
Liverpool to Heathrow,
Belfast,
Dublin, Jersey, the
Isle of Man and
Glasgow. Annual passenger numbers topped 1 million for the first time in
1979.
image:Bmi.a320-200.g-midt.800pix.jpg thumb|right|250px|bmi Airbus A320
In
1981 an application to fly between Heathrow, Glasgow and
Edinburgh was denied by
Civil Aviation Authority CAA. The ruling was overturned, however, after an appeal was lodged with
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. With the introduction of these services, BMA and BA were now in direct competition.
BMA, together with British & Commonwealth Shipping, formed
Manx Airlines in
1982, and the following year BMA purchases a 75% stake in Glasgow-based airline
Loganair. In March
1987 Airlines of Britain Holdings (ABH) was formed to act as a holding company for British Midland and British Midland Aviation Services. ABH became British Midland in 1997 when it was de-merged as part of wide restructuring.
A new look for the airline was unveiled in
1985. Aircraft were painted in very dark blue, deep
gray (color) grey on the lower half of the
fuselage with
red relief. Now simply known as British Midland, a new logo of a stylised red BM crowned with a
Rhombus diamond shape appears on the aircraft tailfins. Airport lounges were introduced at UK hubs and the Diamond Club frequent flyer programme was launched. The charter market was abandoned and the 707 fleet withdrawn at this time.
Boeing 737s were introduced to the fleet in
1987, however it was one of these aircraft that is involved in the airline's only accident to date, when flight BD092 crashed on approach to East Midlands Airport in January
1989, killing 47 people. The aircraft developed a fire in one of the engines en route from Heathrow to Belfast. Though the decision was made to divert to East Midlands, the crew mistakenly shut down the functioning engine, causing the aircraft to lose power and crash on the
M1 motorway (England) M1 Motorway just short of the
runway. The
Kegworth air disaster, as the incident became known, would lead to considerable improvements in aircraft safety and emergency instructions for passengers. The official report into the disaster made 31 safety recommendations.
image:bmi.a321.arp.750pix.jpg thumb|left|250px|bmi Airbus A321 in an old, but still frequently seen, colour scheme
British Midland become the first airline to offer a
vegetarian choice of in-flight meals on UK domestic services, and one of the first airlines in Europe to introduce a vegetarian option, in
1992. Toward the end of the 1990s, British Midland switched to
Airbus Industrie Airbus and
Embraer for its fleet renewal programme.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), a shareholder in British Midland since 1987, sold some of its stake to Lufthansa in
1999 on the condition that British Midland joined the Star Alliance, which it did in July of the following year. In February 2001 a new corporate identity was unveiled, rebranding the airline '''bmi british midland''' (though bmi officially doesn't mean anything, it implies 'British Midland International') featuring a brighter blue and replacing the grey with
white, bringing a more modern and fresh appearance with sweeping curves. In 2003, british midland was quietly dropped from the brand and the airline is now simply referred to as bmi. The new identity coincided with the launch of transatlantic services to
Washington, DC and
Chicago from
Manchester using wide-body
Airbus A330 aircraft.
In
2002, bmi set up a low-cost subsidiary known as '''
bmibaby''', using redundant Boeing 737s which were displaced after bmi's fleet renewal programme favoured an all-Airbus fleet for medium haul and heavy density short haul services. bmibaby flies routes between secondary airports around Europe.
image:bmi.a330-200.g-wwbb.arp.jpg thumb|right|250px|bmi Airbus A330-200 in the take off queue at [[London Heathrow Airport]]
bmi has fought to gain transatlantic flights from Heathrow. Only
British Airways,
Air India,
Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Atlantic,
American Airlines,
United Airlines,
Kuwait Airways, and
Air Canada are permitted to offer such routes. However, they now offer a service from Chicago to Manchester.
Although a direct competitor to
British Airways on several routes from Heathrow for many years, including shuttle services to Glasgow and Edinburgh, competition between the two carriers has never been fierce and both seem to co-exist peacefully.
bmi launched a new service to
Mumbai from London Heathrow in May
2005, after UK and India reached new bilateral air service agreement, and started serving
Riyadh on
1 September 2005 after
British Airways had ceased to serve
Saudi Arabia in March 2005.
bmi group reported debt at £122million on 02/03/2005. Source = http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/aboutbmi/presscentre/pressreleases.aspx?year=2005&rid=589
In early 2006 bmi reported to the Association of European Airlines a sharp drop in passengers carried and an additional sharp drop in load factors, despite maintaining a heavy flight schedule. Source http://www.aea.be/AEAWebsite/DataFiles/Pr06-010.pdf
Additionally most other carriers in AEA reported increased loads in the same period. It is possible bmi will report a loss in 2006, bmi has reported losses in other recent years. This further fuels speculation of takeovers. To add to these rumours bmi group has sold some of the Airbus A321 aircraft, which are the largest in the A320 series. Rumours in aviation forums persist as to the long term viability of bmi and report much discontent with amongst frequent flyers.
The airline is owned by the BBW Partnership (
Michael Bishop (businessman) Sir Michael Bishop, Stuart Balmforth and John Wolfe) (50% plus 1 share),
Lufthansa (30% minus 1 share) and
Scandinavian Airlines System SAS (20%).
Frequent Flyer Program
bmi has a Frequent Flyer program called
bmi diamond club diamond club. This has been in operation for many years. Diamond Club has basic, silver and gold levels, attained by mileage flown annually. bmi has established a considerable following in their frequent flyer program due to it's lower requirements, and star alliance membership however in 2005 changes to the program and the airline structure meant only the higher fares now qualify for miles this most likely has alienated many of their regular flyers and contributed to the AEA reported figures.
Destinations
{{mergefrom|Bmi_destinations}}
{{see|bmi destinations}}
Fleet
The Bmi fleet consists of the following aircraft, as of January 2006:
*3
Airbus A330 Airbus A330-200
*6
Airbus A321 Airbus A321-200
*11
Airbus A320 Airbus A320-200
*8
Airbus A319 Airbus A319-100
*1
Boeing 767-300 Boeing 767-300 (Leased from Arkefly)
In March 2006, BMI fleet age is 4.9 years old.
Incidents & Accidents
Kegworth air disaster
External links
{{commons|bmi British Midland}}
-
bmi
-
bmi Fleet Age
{{Airlines of the United Kingdom}}
{{airlistbox}}
{{Star_Alliance}}
{{SAS_Group}}
Category:Airlines of the United Kingdom
da:Bmi (flyselskab)
de:Bmi (Fluggesellschaft)
fr:British Midland Airways
nl:Bmi (luchtvaartmaatschappij)
ja:Bmi ブリティッシュ・ミッドランド航空
nn:Bmi
pt:BMI British Midland
sv:BMI British Midland
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